Yoga for Better Sleep by Mark Stephens

Author:Mark Stephens
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781623173647
Publisher: North Atlantic Books
Published: 2019-06-29T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 6

Yoga Sleep Sequence for Depression or Lethargy

Introduction: Depression, Sleep, and Brightening Your Day

Sleep and depression are intertwined: poor sleep exacerbates depression and depression exacerbates poor sleep; improved sleep contributes to improved mood and improved mood contributes to improved sleep. This points to a path on which sleep and mood are both directly addressed.

As human beings, we experience a wide range of emotional states, including qualities of sadness, melancholia, and anhedonia that are typically labeled as depression, and as such considered unhealthy, even when they are moderate and are normal responses to life events. The same life events can also lead to a state of deep uneasiness and apprehension characteristic of anxiety, giving us the entwined condition of dysthymic disorder. The clinical diagnosis of depression considers the severity and persistence of specific symptoms such as sadness, overarching hopelessness or pessimism, irritability, loss of interest in what were once pleasurable activities, suicidal ideation, or difficulty sleeping, eating, or working. The technical definition of “depression” given in the DSM-V distinguishes persistent depressive disorder (a depressed mood that lasts at least two years), from perinatal depression (also known as postpartum melancholia), psychotic depression (involving some form of psychosis), and seasonal affective disorder (winter depression brought on by diminished sunlight). There is a vast array of conditions and experiences within each of these types of depression that can be episodic or so habitual that they come to form a core part of someone’s sense of self. As we saw in chapter 2, these conditions are often associated with insomnia and other sleep disorders.

Depression can be caused by a wide array of factors, starting with the conditions of one’s life during childhood, particularly abandonment, physical abuse, and sexual abuse.1 Many life events—some of which are less “events” than lifelong experiences—can trigger a depressive reaction: illness, major life changes, the experience of living in a racist, sexist, ageist, or otherwise discriminatory society, financial difficulty, violence, loss, social isolation, and difficult social relationships. Drug abuse—even simple use of some substances and certainly the use of a wide array of FDA-approved medications—can cause or exacerbate mood disorders. There are also physiological factors that can create chemical imbalances in the brain that cause emotional depression.

Most depression passes with time, especially when one is capable of being active, shares time with and confides in others, and avoids known triggers. When depression is persistent or is experienced with other conditions such as acute anxiety or substance abuse, this may indicate the value of treatment. The most common treatments for depression are some form of psychotherapy, particularly cognitive behavioral therapy, and antidepressant medication, often in combination.2 Seemingly every form of alternative and complementary therapy offers something for healing depression.3 Mindfulness-based meditation as a tool in cognitive therapy has gained significant traction as an effective method for reducing depression across a wide spectrum of settings.4 There is also increasing evidence for the efficacy of other meditation practices, including Vipassana, in healing depression.5 Although there are many claims made about the effectiveness of yoga in healing depression, there are few high-quality studies supporting this assertion.

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